Efforts in the composites manufacturing industry have been directed toward low cost manufacturing processes such as Liquid Composite Molding (LCM). In any LCM process, a fibrous preform material is placed into a mold, which is then closed and sealed to prevent leakage before a liquid resin is injected into the mold. The most common LCM process that uses two sided rigid tooling is called Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). The rigid tooling in RTM encompasses the fibers and compresses them to the desired fiber volume fraction. Resin is then injected through ports located in the rigid tooling to fill the empty spaces between stationary fibers before the resin cures. An LCM process that uses single sided tooling is Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM), in which the mold is sealed by enveloping the fabric with a non-rigid polymer or film adhered to the tooling surface with a sealant tape, forming a vacuum bag. A vacuum pump is used to compact the preform and draw the resin from a reservoir with atmospheric pressure. Several variations of this process have been introduced to overcome the disadvantage of lengthy filling times, which is especially protracted when manufacturing large structures. One particular variation of VARTM that significantly decreases filling time is called the Seemann's Composite Resin Infusion Molding Process (SCRIMP). SCRIMP involves placement of a layer of highly permeable fabric, commonly referred to as the distribution media, on top of fiber mats and inside the vacuum bag to increase the flow rate of resin into the part being manufactured.
Both the VARTM and SCRIMP processes have drawbacks, resulting in a need to improve the process of liquid composite molding.